Friday: Watch the podcast on YouTube at 9 am ET on Fridays, when Jill and Carlo will be hanging out in the live chat! 

Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, July 14, 2021:

COVID-19 LATEST

A day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced a rule that would make vaccines or a negative Covid test mandatory for entrance to bars, restaurants, malls and other gathering places, a record number of French citizens booked appointments for their first doses. Nearly 1 million people flooded France’s online platform after Macron called on the country to get vaccinated in order to save its economy. In the U.S., pop star Olivia Rodrigo is going to the White House today to film videos with Dr. Fauci as part of a new push to vaccinate teens. AP

VOTING RIGHTS

President Biden used the bully pulpit of the presidency to frame restrictive new voting laws led by Republicans as “the most significant test of democracy since the Civil War,” saying to GOP lawmakers: “Have you no shame?” Beyond the harsh words, Biden and Democrats don’t have much of a path toward blocking those state laws, save for the two federal voting bills that are stuck in Congress. But that would require scrapping the filibuster, which Biden has shied away from despite pressure from his left flank. CHEDDAR

SOUTH AFRICA UNREST

South Africa is experiencing its worst violence since the apartheid era, sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week. At least 72 people have died in widespread riots and clashes with police, who are so overwhelmed that the military has been called in to back them up. BBC journalists in the city of Durban witnessed a woman forced to throw her baby from a building that had been set on fire by looters. The baby was caught and safely reunited with its mom:  WATCH

VENICE BANS CRUISE SHIPS

Italy will ban cruise ships from entering the waters around Venice starting on Aug. 1, in order to protect the city’s fragile ecosystem that is prone to severe flooding and the effects of mass tourism. The lagoon that surrounds Venice will become a protected national monument and large ships will be forced to dock at a nearby industrial port. Venetians have been fighting with the tourism industry over this for years, saying the steady stream of cruise liners and the waves and pollution they caused was damaging the city’s heritage. REUTERS

INFLATION NATION

An important measure of inflation jumped sharply in June for the largest year-over-year gain since 2008 as the U.S. economy continues to rebound at a remarkable clip. The consumer price index -- a measure of what people pay for all goods and services -- climbed 5.4%, due to soaring prices for things like airline tickets and used cars. For some cars, it is now literally cheaper to buy a new model right off the assembly line than one that’s a couple years old -- if you can find a new car, that is. MARKETPLACE

EARNINGS SEASON

Corporate earnings season is in full swing on Wall St., and investors are more optimistic than they have been in some time. JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs both blew their profit expectations for the second quarter out of the water. (JPM more than doubled its profit from the same time a year ago.) Pepsi crushed its earnings, too, as restaurant demand picked up. More of the big banks report today. SEEKING ALPHA

TEAM USA

The U.S. men’s basketball team blew out Argentina, 108-80, in exhibition play ahead of the Olympics. The win was a much-needed boost for Team USA, coming off back-to-back losses against Nigeria and Australia. That's double the number of exhibition games the “Dream Team” has lost since 1992, when NBA players were allowed to compete. ESPN

EMMY NOMS

NOMINATIONS: The Emmy nominations are out for a year in which many of us watched an exorbitant amount of television. HBO retook the top spot, beating out Netflix by a single nod. By shows, The Mandalorian and The Crown scored the most (24 a piece), followed by WandaVision (23). It's the first time the top three most-nominated shows came from streamers. Pose star Mj Rodriguez got a lead acting nod, the first for a trans woman. The Emmys air on CBS on Sept. 19. FULL LIST

SNUBS & SURPRISES: Hamilton got a nomination for Best Variety Special even though it was essentially a filmed theatrical performance. Nicole Kidman was snubbed for The Undoing, while her co-star Hugh Grant was nominated. American Idol was shut out of the competition category, and Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Samantha Bee and James Corden were all left out in the talk show category. Emily in Paris got nominated for Best Comedy Series, even after its Golden Globe nomination led to a bribery scandal that helped take down the Hollywood Foreign Press. VARIETY

SPOTTED...

...Pope Francis, leaving a Rome hospital 10 days after undergoing colon surgery: SEE PIC

… Elon Musk, waving as he arrived at court for a second day of testimony in a civil case regarding a past Tesla acquisition. The proceedings had to be paused when the opposing lawyer threw up in the jury box: SEE PIC

LEFTOVERS: SHIP OF DREAMS

The Titanic is slowly vanishing from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, the victim of bacteria that’s been eating away at the ship’s hull for almost 110 years. This week, the undersea exploration company OceanGate sent a team of scientists 12,500 feet below to digitally map what’s left of the world’s most famous shipwreck. The crew took photos of never-before seen artifacts, including a stained glass window and a piece of floor tile: SEE THEM

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

Share:
More In Culture
Load More